NASA would stick around, but proponents of the plan see it turning into a "conduit" for tech developed outside the federal government.

WSJ: Contract winners would use corporate funds to build and test rockets, provide compatible space capsules and then try to recoup those investments by offering commercial-style transportation services to the agency. Essentially, NASA would be paying a set fee for every pound or person transported to orbit.

This is great news for a group of mostly West Coast-based space travel startups founded by already-rich enterprenuers like Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and John Carmack.

The Journal singles out PayPal and Tesla cofounder Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp -- known as SpaceX -- as a startup that stands to benefit from the shift in policy.

But there are plenty of other private-sector firms set to take advantage of the new policy, including Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.